Door-closing mechanism for scows.



PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905. F. HAYES & W. GLIFFORD.

I DOOR CLOSING MECHANISM FOR SGOWS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.31. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 1.

WITNESSES N0. 806,807. PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905. P. HAYES & W. CLIFFORD.

DOOR CLOSING MECHANISM FOR SCOWS.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR.31. 1905.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 LV/TJVESSES:

M ma-m. A TTORNE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK HAYES, OF SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN, AND WILLIAM CLIFFORD, OF

' DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

DOOR-CLOSING MECHANISM FOR SCOWS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application filed March 31, 1905. Serial No. 253,055.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that WB,FRANK HAYES, residing at Superior, Wisconsin, and WILLIAM CLIF- FORD, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Closing Mech anism for Scows; and we do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to door-closing mechanism for scows, and has for its object the provision of means by which hard manual labor in closing the hopper-doors of scows may be obviated.

It consists of the constructions, c ombinations, and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical trans verse section of a. portion of a scow on the line A B of Fig. 4, showing our invention mounted thereon. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a portion of said scow and of a portion of our said invention mounted thereon. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a part of said scow, partly broken away to show portions of our said invention housed within said scow. Fig. 3 is a reduced perspective view of said scow,showing parts of our said invention applied thereto.

In the said drawings is represented a scow, having the outside wall 1, the bottom 2, the deck 3, the end wall 4, the hopper-coaming 5, the transverse partition-walls 6 and 7, the-longitudinal hopper-walls 8, the hopper-doors 9 and 10, hinged to the scow, as at 9, and the engine-supports 11, all of which may be of any suitable materials or constructions or contours. Said scow may contain one or more said hoppers, as desired. J ournaled in bearings 12, of any suitable constructiom secured to any suitable support on said scow, as to said coaming, by any suitable means, as by bolts 12, are one or more shafts 13, which are preferably approximately each of the length, respectively, of the top of a hopper and are preferably alined with each other and extend along said coaming or, if desired, over said hoppers. Secured to each said shaft by any suitable means, as by clips 14, clamped thereon, and by U-bolts 14, secured in said clips, are chains or cables 15, preferably provided at their lower ends with forked extensions 15, which are secured to the meeting edges of the hopper-doors 9 and 10, respectively. Keyed to each of said shafts 13 is a ratchet-wheel 16. Mounted on and rigidly secured to any suitable support on said scow, as to said coaming or one of the partition-walls, is a casting or castings 17, to which is loosely bolted, as by a bolt 17*, a dog 18, the heel of which dog in operation is adapted to bear against the back wall of said casting to avoid strain upon said bolt 17 The tooth of said dog is in operation adapted to engage said ratchet-wheel and prevent the chain-unwinding rotation of the corresponding said shaft 13. Mounted in suitable bearings, as 19, se-

cured to said scow by any suitable means, is

a rock-shaft 20, preferably parallel to said shaft or shafts 13, to which rock-shaft 20 are secured one or more eccentric arms 21, preferably corresponding in number to the number of hoppers in said scow and to thenumber of ratchet-wheels on the shafts 13 aforesaid. To each said eccentric arm is pivoted a forked pawl 22, adapted in operation to straddle a tooth of the corresponding ratchet-Wheel 16 oppositely from said dog 18, said pawl 22 being manually held in operative position and being adapted when released to automatically disengage from said ratchet-wheel. An eccentric arm 23 is also keyed to said rock-shaft, and to the said arm 23 is pivotally secured a connecting-rod 24, preferably directed through a slotted aperture in said deck and pivoted at its opposite end on a crank-pin 25, extending from v by any suitable means, as by a spur-wheel 30,

to drive said gear-wheel 26. In the drawings we have shown a common reciprocating steamengine for such purpose, provided with a steam-feed pipe 31 and a steam-exhaust pipe 32. Said steam-feed pipe may communicate with any suitable source of steam-supply. (Not shown.) Interposed in said steam-feed pipe is a throttle-valve 33 of any suitable construction, which is preferably placed within reach of an operator on the deck of said scow.

Heretofore the usual means of winding up the chains 15 has been by manually-operated pawls, at the expense of great labor and loss of time.

In the operation of our invention, the doors of said hoppers being closed and a load supported thereon, the operator upon the arrival of the scow at the dumping-grounds knocks the dog 18 laterally out of engagement with its corresponding ratchet-Wheel 16. The shaft 13 is thus permitted to revolve to unwind the chains 15, secured thereto, the load forcing downward the hopper-doors and escaping therethrough. The engine is then started and through the medium of said spur-wheel, gearwheel, connecting-rod, and eccentric arm 23 rocks said rock-shaft 20. The operator then reengages the dog 18 with its corresponding ratchet-wheel 16 and lifts the pawl 22 into engagement with said ratchet-wheel and holds it there until the chains 15 have been wound up sufliciently to raise said hopper-doors, whereupon said pawl is released and automatically falls out of engagement with said ratchetwheel, the dog 18 preventing counter rotation of said ratchet-wheel and shaft 13, as also it did between the strokes of said pawl 22. The operator may now proceed to the independent opening or closing of the doors of other hoppers in similar manner and by similar means, if there be other hoppers in said scow.

While we have described certain details of construction, it is obvious that they may be modified or altered in minor particulars within the spirit and scope ofour said invention.

Having now described our invention, What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In door-closing means for scows, the combination with a scow having a load-receiving hopper provided with hinged floordoors, of a rotatable shaft jourualed on said scow above the plane of said doors when closed, flexible means secured at one end to said shaft and at the opposite ends to the meeting edges of said doors, a ratchet-wheel keyed to said shaft, a rock-shaft journaled in suitable supports on said scow, an eccentric pawl mounted on said rock-shaft and adapted in operative position to engage said ratchet-wheel to rotate the same, means adapted in operative position to prevent the counter rotation of said ratchetwheel, and means adapted in operation to rock said rock-shaft.

. 2. The combination with a suitable support containing a load-receiving hopper or. compartment provided with a load-retaining door or doors adapted to close a load-discharging opening in said compartment, of a shaftjournaled on said support, flexible means secured to said shaft and -to a free edge of said door or doors, a ratchet-wheel keyed to said shaft, a rock-shaft, an arm secured thereon and adapted to rock therewith, a pawl pivotally secured to said arm and adapted in operative position to engage said ratchet-wheel to rotate the same, a dog mounted on said support and adapted in operative position to engage said ratchet-wheel oppositely to said pawl to pre vent counter rotation of said wheel, a second arm keyed to said rock-shaft, a connectingrod pivotally secured at one end to the outward end of the latter said arm and means for reciprocating said connecting-rod.

3. The combination with a structure containing a load-receiving compartment having a load-retaining door or doors, adapted to close a load-discharging opening, of a shaft jourualed on said construction, flexible means secured at one end to said shaft and adapted to be partly wound thereon and secured at its other end or ends to the free edge of said door or doors, a ratchet-wheel on said shaft adapted to rotate therewith, a rock-shaft jourualed on said structure an arm mounted on said rock-shaft and adapted to rock therewith, a pawl pivotally connected to said arm and adapted to be manually raised into operative engagement with said ratchet-wheel to rotate the same,cmeans adapted in operative position to prevent the counter rotation of said ratchet-wheel, a second arm mounted on said rock-shaft and adapted to rock therewith, a'

connecting-rod pivotally connected to the lat ter said arm and by an eccentric-pin to a gearwheel, and means including an engine adapted to rotate said gear-wheel, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we hereunto afiix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK HAYES. WILLIAM CLIFFORD.

Witnesses:

WELLINGTON M. BLEWETT, JAMES T. WATSON. 

